The City of Buffalo and surrounding communities provide significant opportunities for emergency medicine residents to learn about emergency medical services (EMS) and EMS Systems. The department employs several highly qualified personnel who work with our residents to insure that they receive substantial exposure and training in EMS. Much of this training occurs during the EM2 year where all residents spend a month on the combined EMS/Toxicology rotation. During the month, residents respond as part of the primary Specialized Medical Assistance Response Team (SMART) response.
The goal of the EMS rotation is to provide the resident with an overview of:
- EMS administration, operations, quality improvement, and education
- Integration of EMS and Public Health
- Disaster operation
The goal is not to make an EMS Medical Director out of the resident; it is impossible to do this in one month. Rather we hope to foster an appreciation of the EMS environment and a good working relationship with area EMS providers.
During the EMS/Toxicology rotation, residents drive one of the department's three emergency response vehicles and respond to mass casualty incidents, patient entrapments, major incidents at the Buffalo/Niagara International Airport, and other medical incidents where physician expertise is needed. SMART also provides on-scene medical services for several S.W.A.T. teams in the Buffalo area. SMART augments local EMS resources for large public gatherings such as festivals and concerts throughout the year. SMART recently opened up an extended membership to volunteers in the Buffalo area who have special skills that could be useful in the event of a biological or chemical weapons incident. Prior to driving the SMART truck, all residents receive formal training in emergency vehicle operations. During the EMS rotation, the emergency medicine resident will interact with a variety of emergency medical services personnel. Resident activities during the EMS rotation will include the following:
- Completing an inventory of the equipment on the assigned SMART vehicle
- Attending the Regional Emergency Medical Advisory Committee meeting with the EMS Fellow
- Doing two ride-alongs with Rural Metro Medical Services, one of two local private ambulance companies in Buffalo.
- Flying with Mercy Flight, a local air medical helicopter service, for 1 or 2 twelve-hour shifts. (While flying with Mercy Flight is encouraged, performance of this activity is not mandatory for this rotation)
- Taking EMS calls in the city of Buffalo in the SMART truck with the EMS Fellow, the Office of Prehospital Care Director, or one of the service medical directors.
- A shift with Rescue 1 of the Buffalo Fire Department. This unit is used for special rescue situations and responds to all confirmed structure fires in the city of Buffalo. Many residents consider this to be the best experience of their EMS rotation (and a great firehouse dinner!)
- Assisting in skills verification sessions for EMS providers
- Spending four hours in the emergency medical communications dispatch center (MERS). This allows the resident to learn the basic principles of emergency medical dispatch.
- Responding to requests for SMART
- Staffing special events for medical care (e.g. Buffalo Bills football games)
- Completion of several online FEMA and US Fire Academy courses
At the end of the rotation, a short answer exam is given and contains questions pertaining to the experience. Several questions are also based on the resident’s experiences at various agencies.
The emergency medical services rotation at the SUNY at Buffalo Emergency Medicine Residency allows the emergency medicine resident to experience the whole realm of EMS systems in the Buffalo area. If you have any further questions concerning the EMS rotation at SUNY at Buffalo, please do not hesitate us through the email below.
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